Rod | Real Spearfish

Reel Fly Line
How is fly fishing different from regular rod and reel fishing?

I know you use a fly (feathery thing) instead of any other lure or bait. Do you use a bobber? Do you use a certain weight or line?

The most conspicuous difference is in the casting. In spin fishing or bait fishing, you use the weight of the tackle at the end of the line to make casts. Lures, weights, bobbers, etc., provide the weight to cast. You flip your rod and the weight of the lure pulls the line along for some distance before splashing down.

In fly fishing, you use the weight of the line itself to carry the nearly weightless fly during the cast. The fly line acts a little like a bullwhip, and on the end of the fly line there is a bit of lighter-weight line tied to your fly. The fly has no real weight of its own, so the line must carry it to the fish.

For this reason, the two fishing styles look a lot different. In spin fishing, the line is usually some flavor of clear or nearly invisible filament, while in fly fishing, the fly line is heavy, thick plastic and very visable. Also, in fly fishing there is a lot of “false casting,” where the angler casts the line overhead multiple times before making a cast. In spin fishing, you usually just cast you tackle out, retrieve it after a certain time, then cast again.

Another big difference, as you point out, is the type of lures. In fly fishing, you use very lightweight lures and they are often fished on the surface. This gives the angler the ability to imitate insects on the surface of the water, which fish eat. It also gives the angler the ability to imitate very small forage items like insect larvae. You can fish with flies on spinning gear, but it’s a workaround at best.

Spinning gear, on the other hand, lets the angler fish with large, muscular, heavily armed lures and with bait. It’s probably a better method for taking very large fish (though spey and saltwater anglers would dispute this). For example, I know I can catch 30 to 50-inch tiger muskie on my fly rod, but I usually use my spin gear instead. You can also fish much deeper with spinning gear or baitcasting gear.

There are lots of other differences, not the least of which is an overall philosophy and approach to fishing. Bait anglers, for example, often view fishing as a relaxing, sedentary pastime, where you might sit in a chair for several hours, even reading a book or dozing off. Fly anglers tend to view fishing as a very active sport, moving around, wading, and hiking to find more fish.

Setting Up a Fly Fishing Reel : Fly Fishing Perfection Loop on a Fly Line